When Were Saskatchewan Homestead Applications Available?

When Were Saskatchewan Homestead Applications Available?

Pioneers settling the Canadian "Last Best West" could apply for a homestead for a $10 filing fee if they were British subjects over the age of 18. A genealogist researching a family tree starts from the known and works toward the unknown to discover names, dates and places of their ancestors. The various homestead and lands databases online assist this endeavour for Saskatchewan about one century ago.

Between 1870 to 1930 letters Patent were issued by the Lands Patent Branch of the Department of the Interior to successful homesteaders. To be successful pioneers needed to "prove up" their land. Settlers had to live on their homesteads for a three year period, clearing and farming some of the land and making improvements.

From 1871 until 1890 and again from 1908 until 1918, a homesteader who had received patent on his homestead could apply for a pre-emption. They would pay the market price of the time which was about $2.00 acre, this rate changed and the rate was recorded as $1, $2 or $3 an acre depending on the era. Even numbered sections were reserved for homesteads and pre-emptions, while odd-numbered sections were sold. A pre-emption was the quarter section adjacent to his homestead if it was available. In this way the homesteader could expand his own farm for himself or for his children.

Homesteaders had the option to purchase Hudson Bay Company lands, railway lands, and school lands. These gave way also to larger farms. Sections 11 and 29 of each township were allocated toward school sections. Railway rants allowed the Canadian Pacific Railway (C.P.R.) 24 miles on either side of the railroad. The Dominion Lands Act of 1872 provided that the Company should receive all of section 8 in each township, all of section 26 in each township with a number divisible by 5, and the southern half and the northwest quarter of section 26 in all other townships.

240 acres of land were offered to Métis families between 1886-1902. Due to the location of these lands, a majority of Métis sold their scrip to land speculators.

In 1871, land grants were offered to soldiers and militia who had served in Manitoba and the North West Territories, to North West Rebellion veterans, Boer War veterans, and North West Mounted Police retirees. The 1918 Soldier Settlement Act provided World War I veterans with a free quarter section of land or scrip.

There were some ranching concerns in the southern portion of the province, where land was leased out for grazing. From 1872 to 1905, open grazing leases were available. These lands were not guaranteed in any way, and could be put up for sale.

After 1908, a closed grazing lease of farming land in Saskatchewan could be obtained for one cent an acre for up to 21 years subject to a two year's cancellation.

In 1914, grazing leases of 12,000 acres of unfit farming land could be obtained under a ten year closed lease. There were many other subsequent changes in regulations concerning grazing land periodically.

The pioneer starting out with their quarter section homestead may continue on the land and expand by purchasing additional land from a variety of sources. They may sell their land after successfully proving it up, and re-locate. A few homesteaders were not successful, and in such cases a Declaration of Abandonment was filed with the Land Titles Office.

Using the Land Patent database held by Library and Archives Canada LAC, the Land Titles Application database called The Saskatchewan Homestead Index Project (SHIP), the Saskatchewan Genealogy Society's HOME (Historical Ownership Mapping Endeavour) or the Glenbow Archives CPR database which shows "Sales of agricultural land by the Canadian Pacific Railway to settlers in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, 1881-1906." One piece of the family history search may indeed be completed, and that would be to discover their place of residence.

The place of residence can further unlock local history books, birth, marriage and cemetery records which may be held locally and census records.

An important clue in early Saskatchewan genealogy research is to delve into legal land locations and determining homestead locations and expansion.

Further Reading:

Homestead Record Information on Saskatchewan Gen Web ~ a Rootsweb project at Ancestry.com

Homestead Form Examples

Homestead Legal Land Location, Township Range and Meridian explained

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Related posts:

What can be found at the NEW Saskatchewan Provincial Archives website?

The Era of Saskatchewan One Room Schoolhouses

Why were Canadian "Last Best West" homesteads created?

•Love and Marriage in Saskatchewan- a comprehensive guide

How did pioneers travel to their prairie homesteads?

•How to locate birth, marriage and death certificates in Saskatchewan, Canada

Are there genealogy sites that can compete with Ancestry.com?

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Image:Seasons Spinning Time

"To every thing there is a season, and time to every purpose under the heaven:


A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted
A time to kill, and a time to heal
A time to break down, and a time to build up
A time to weep, and a time to laugh
A time to mourn, and a time to dance
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together
A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away
A time to rend, and a time to sew
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak
A time to love, and a time to hate
A time of war, and a time of peace. "

The Bible, Ecclesiastes 3:18.

All rights reserved. Copyright © Aum Kleem. Thanks to Ruby Blossom for the texture. All my images and text are protected under international authors copyright laws and Canadian photography laws and may not be downloaded, reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without my written explicit permission. They may be licensed throgh Getty images. .. Peace and love be with you. Namaste.

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Evolution of Saskatchewan's Historical Census

Evolution of Saskatchewan's Historical Census

Canada became a nation in 1867, and the eastern provinces took their individual census as early as 1851, and every ten years thereafter. The 1851, 1861, were provincial census amalgamated into becoming the Census of Canada for those years. 1871 was the first census year following confederation.

The 1881 census is the first census to enumerate the Northwest Territories, and the seven provinces which belonged to Canada in that year. The Northwest Territories was the name given to western Canada and encompassed present day Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the Northwest territories, Yukon, Nunavut, Labrador and the northern portions of Quebec, and Ontario.

By 1891 the Northwest Territories was subdivided into districts, Alberta, Assiniboia East, Assiniboia West, Saskatchewan, and Mackenzie River. Canada was comprised now of the provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec.

The Northwest territorial divisions now consisted of Alberta, Assiniboia, Athabasca, Franklin, Mackenzie, Saskatchewan, and Ungava. The provinces of Canada were enumerated as well during the 1901 census, including British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec; two territories - the Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories.

The 1906 Canada Census of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta was unique following the formation of the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta in 1905. This demarked the first time the census was taken every five years in the Prairie provinces rather than every ten years, this five year system was adopted by all of Canada in 1956.

The 1911 Census of Canada and the 1916 Census of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta are the latest census to be released into the public domain by the National Library and Archives. Various agencies have undertaken searchable transcription of these documents.

All the released records have been digitised by the National Archives and Library and can be found on their website as primary source images in their original form. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, and Automated Genealogy have all transcribed census records into searchable online databases.

At the FamilySearch's family history centers, public researchers can access the 1916 Canada Census for free. Due to contractual obligations with The Generations Network (TGN) the 1916 census will not be available for free online at Family Search, however they have made the 1881 census available online.

The 1851, 1861, and 1871 census of Canada have now been added to the Family Search database and is accessible to the public researcher for free at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints family history centres. There are plans to include as well the 1891 census. They are seeking transcribers for their projects. These volunteers can work from home

The Historical Canadian Census Collection 1851 to 1916 on Ancestry.co provides a searchable database for all the released census (1851/2, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901, 1906, 1911 and 191) on web site search engine. There is a fourteen day free trial period, and monthly subscription rates to access the entire record collection at Ancestry.com.

The 1851/1852 Cenus of Canada are currently being transcribed by Automated Genealogy, and they have the 1901 Census of Canada, 1906 census of the Western Provinces and the 1911 Census of Canada completed and searchable online.

The census are invaluable to genealogists. Enumerators recorded persons inhabiting dwellings listed by householder followed by the family grouping as of the census date. Employment, age, religion, nationality, year of immigration, relationship to the head of family or household were recorded along with place of habitation. Street address was given for city areas, and legal land descriptions were recorded for rural dwellers in the form of section, township, range and meridian.



Further Reading:

Links to digitised primary source documents, and transcribed secondary source documents and search information, tips and hints about the Canadian census on Saskatchewan Gen Web ~ Rootsweb ~ Ancestry.com

1916 Canada Census of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta - Search - Ancestry

1916 Census - Ancestry

• 38,413 images of original records
• 1.69 Million names
• Military service information

Census of the Prairie Provinces, 1916 - Library and Archives Canada

FamilySearch Expands Canadian Census Collection June 24, 2009

Family Search Known Issues for Canadian 1901 and 1916 censuses in Historical Records

1852 Census of Canada - Automated Genealogy Index the 1851/1852 Census of Canada being transcribed by Automated Genealogy, Volunteers requested.

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Related posts:

What can be found at the NEW Saskatchewan Provincial Archives website?

The Era of Saskatchewan One Room Schoolhouses Why were Canadian "Last Best West" homesteads created?

•Love and Marriage in Saskatchewan- a comprehensive guide

How did pioneers travel to their prairie homesteads?

•How to locate birth, marriage and death certificates in Saskatchewan, Canada

Are there genealogy sites that can compete with Ancestry.com?

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Image: Pink Orchids.

"The earth laughs in flowers." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us." - Iris Murdoch

"Some people, like flowers, give pleasure, just by being."-Anon

All rights reserved. Copyright © Aum Kleem. All my images and text are protected under international authors copyright laws and Canadian photography laws and may not be downloaded, reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without my written explicit permission. They may be licensed through Getty images. .. Peace and love be with you. Namaste.

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Are there genealogy web sites that can compete with Ancestry.com?

Are there genealogy web sites that can compete with Ancestry.com?

As more records enter into the public domain and are not protected by privacy and copyright laws, there are more and more books, records, and information being digitised online by a virtual plethora of web sites. How does one sort through the internet to find the web pages most useful in your ancestral search projects? There is not one way to find the best sources for information but several web sites which will hold up a torch and help to light up the path on your journey.

Ancestry.com is the new name for Rootsweb. Rootsweb has many volunteers manning the World Gen Web which includes the United States Gen Web, Canada Gen Web for instance and all the various states or provinces and their regions as well. Rootsweb volunteers provide regional local information, mailing lists and query - posting boards for internet visitors for free. rootsweb also provides the World Connect program where users can submit their family tree ged com file to share online as well, for free Ancestry.com took over Rootsweb and does charge for select databases, but not those databases or transcription projects put online by volunteers.

As far as other sites to use for genealogical research other than Ancestry.com, it would depend upon your region of ancestry to know if there would be additional sites to use. It is always best to search online for as much information as is available and not just search on one web site.

In Canada for instance the National Archives and Library web site has been making huge improvements and additions, and genealogists have appreciated the census being put online in the form of primary source documents, which have been transcribed on other websites as secondary source documents. It is on this website as well that WWI records can be found as well as Dominion Land Grant Patents, and scrip land records.

For researching ancestry in the United States one would be amiss to not check the Social Security Death Index SSDI, which is searchable now on many and several web sites.

If your genealogical research takes you afield to the British Isles, GENUKI (Genealogy United Kingdom and Ireland) has some excellent resources.

To try to keep a handle on the huge amount of information that is flooding the internet for genealogists and historians, Cyndi's List has been cataloging the information by subject.

Family Search.org is the web site of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This denomination provides a large amount of information via microfilm in their LDS libraries and a lot this is coming online as well.

There are too many web sites world wide to include them all here. Start from what you know and work towards the unknown. Local sources may indeed be the best source for birth, marriage and death certificates as well as cemetery photographs or internment records. The regional library or archives would have the newspaper records for obituaries, birth, wedding and anniversary announcements. The genealogy society in your ancestor's country of origin is devoted to helping professonal genealogists and researchers and can provide resources and information guidelines. Rootsweb, by providing regional genealogy web sites through World Gen Web helps to find regional genealogy internet URLs, local web sites and postal addresses of interest to genealogists. World Gen Web also has established various transcription and assorted genealogical and cemetery projcts depending on the region and resources available. As well Cyndi's list mentioned above helps in fiding the relevant web site or the "needle in the haystack" in a very organised way.

This brief introduction to online genealogy intends to help researchers discover where to research the internet for reliable sources. Good luck with your genealogical endeavours.

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Related posts:
The Era of Saskatchewan One Room Schoolhouses

•Love and Marriage in Saskatchewan- a comprehensive guide

How did pioneers travel to their prarie homesteads?

•How to locate birth, marriage and death certificates in Saskatchewan, Canada

For more information:
Saskatchewan Gen Web a Rootsweb genealogy region on ancestry.com

All rights reserved. Copyright © Aum Kleem All my images and text are protected under international authors copyright laws and Canadian photography laws and may not be downloaded, reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without my written explicit permission. They may be licensed throgh Getty images. .. Peace and love be with you. Namaste.

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